Doug's South America Excursion

I arrived at the ruins at 8:30 but they didn't open until 9:30, so got out the stove and fixed some breakfast - oatmeal and raisens. The site included a small museum (all in Spanish) and 2 hours was sufficient to see everything

From there I headed nominally SE to the ruins at Teotihuacan, about an hour NE of Meco City, and probably Mexico's most widely known and accessable archaeological site. Ther was no direcct route from Tula to Teotihuacan and I elected to take some smaller secondary Mexican roads rather than the large ones which were more out of the way.

That was an interesting experience. Don't expect to make any time on secondary roads. The pavement is often very bad, and the roads generally go through the town square of each small town you pass through. And there are more small towns than shown on the AAA map. Also, once again the AAA map was very inacurate in places. Distances were occasionally off by a factor of two, and on several roads, the names of the towns on the map bore no resemblance to those I actually passed through.

Following a road through a Mexican town requires some skill. Like I said they usually go through the town square, but there is no pattern to how they enter or exit the square, and only occasionally signs to indicate the way. Sometimes they'll enter at one corner and exit kitty-corner, other times they'L just pass straight through on one side of the square. Plus Sunday wa market day in many small towns and that just complicated matters, with the traffic and occasional detours.

The GPS receiver actually came in handy in getting through such towns. From the map you knew the general direction the road followed as it entered and left the town. I used the GPS to keep headed in the generally correct direction as the road followed the twisted streets through town.

I've had to make a consious effort to drink enough liquids to stay hydrated. The heat takes its toll I guess.

Arrived too late to go to the ruins today, so I found a hotel a couple of miles away where I decided I'd stay 2 nights, giving me all day tomorrow to explore the ruins. A storm was brewing, with black skies and lightening SE of the archaeological site. I put my Aerostich pants on (I had been riding without them the past 2 days as they were just too hot) and rode the last couple of miles to the hotel in heavy rain. As I approached the hotel, the roadside was covered in white patches of hail. At the hotel, there were places in corners of buildings with a foot of raisen-sized hail. The kids were building a snowman. The hotel was called El Tamazcal.

Monday September 2

Artesans and vendors of trinkets lined most entrances to the site and wandered the grounds trying to earn some money. Most items seemed to be priced beterrn 5 and 20 pesos. I got very adept at saying "No gracias" to them. Entrance fee was 16 pesos (about $2). Actually, on Sundays entrance to most Mexican archaeological sites is free, as it was for me yesterday at Tula.

I pretty much had the place to myself from 8 till about 10:30 when the tour busses showed up. The majority of tourists seemed to be German, followed by Japanese, and then the French.

It's days like today where I most miss Noemi. Seeing the other couples wandering around the site. When I'm on the bike I generally don't miss her, because if she were along, she'd be incommunicado anyways. As I've always said when someone would ask why we didn't equip our helmets with a 2-way communication system, "Because, then I'd have to talk to her all day." When I'm on the bike I enjoy the solitude it affords and the ability to just let the mind wander on different subjects. But on days like today, wandering around looking at new things, and evenings in camp or wandering about some village looking for an open restaurante or groceries for the next day, that' when I still wander sometimes if I did the right thing. But then I think back to all my pre-Noemi travels, most of which were solo, and I realize I can get back to that frame of mind, it'll just take some time. It doesn't mean putting Noemi out of my mind, just adjusting to the new situation. I got very comfortable with Noemi around; I think it spoiled me a bit.

About mid-morning I was thinking maybe I shouldn't have decided to spend two nights here, that I could head out after checking out the ruins. But after walking for 6.5 hours, I'm tired and getting on the bike and riding for a couple more hours definitely is not appealing.

Looks like we may have another late afternoon thunderstorm as the clouds are gathering and I can hear thunder somewhere in the distance.

The bike has started right away the past two days, even though one morning i was fairly cool. Also, the occasional engine stumble in hot weather is gone mmust have been the tight exhaust valves. hope I didn't burn the seats on either of them. I guess I'll have to check them every 2500 miles instead of every 5000 miles.

You can tell this a tourist area as everything is more expensive, drinks, dinner, hotels. Even so I'm well under my $30/day budget so far, even including gas, though I've only done **** miles in 6 days. Even if you eliminate the 2.5 days of layovers for "sightseeing" that averages out at just **** miles per day. Hardly a grueling pace. I definitely can get used to this!

All day yesterday, Sunday, I passed roadside restaurants or food stands selling barbacoa, barbecue. So tonight for dinner at one of the many small roadside restaurants which line the outside of the perimeter road around the ruins I ordered some. It was delicious, but not what I expected, which was beef prepared in some type of spicy barbecue sauce. I know, that's a circular definition. What it really was most like, was slices off a really moist beef roast. Very tender and moist.

Tomorrow, assuming I go through a larger city, I need to find an ATM machine and get some more pesos. I only got a weeks worth at the border since I wasn't sure how long I'd take to get through Mexico. I have plenty of dollars but I might as well try to get pesos directly via ATM if one is available, rather than use my dollars.

I say assuming because I haven't yet looked at my map to see where I'm going tomorrow. I know I'm headed east-southeast towards the state of Veracruz where there are a lot of Olmec ruins. That also means the weather will be getting hotter and more humid.

Tuesday September 3 (53956 miles)

Destination for today was Parque Nacional La Malinche, in the State of Tlaxcala. It looked to be only about 150 miles of riding to get there, The guide book described it as one of the nicest and most developed of Mexico's National Parks, with camping facilities. I hadn't camped once yet south of the border, so if I didn't have the gumption for camping in some campesinos front yard, I could at least camp in a National Park.

While the mileage for the day appeared to be small, I had a feeling it would be plenty. I again had to take some secondary roads to get from my hotel in Otumba (a couple of miles SE of Teotihuacan) over to Mexico Route 136, which was the main route SE to Tlaxcala. I also planned to go into the state's capital, Tlaxcala, to try to get some cash (pesos).

The GPS track for the day would confirm my coservatism. Several times durin the day, I ended up on the wropng road and had to backtrack for 5-10 miles. In fact, I had problems finding the correct road out of Otumba the first thing in the morning. Again it was a case of the road going around the town square and taking the correct road off the square. My 1st choice was headed in the right general direction, but after about 5 miles turned into a major road construction project. A couple questions asked to a road crewman confirmed I should return to Otumba and take the road "mas a la izquierda" (more to the left). Where is Dave "Mr Navigator" Doudna when I need him?

I found another useful way to use the GPS for navigation. Put it in moving map mode and it plots your track on the screen. You can zoom in or out to the appropriate scale. Then by comparing the shape of your track with the shape of the roads on the map, you can confirm where you are along the routr or if you made a wrong turn. In addition, at questionable junctions, you ca mark it on the display, which is then useful if you need to backtrack. It's no replacement for good seat-of-the-pants navigation skills, but it helps.

I had noticed that dogs in Mexico, at least along the more heavily travelled routes, rarely chased after motorcycles. There are a lot of bicyvcles and small displacement motorcycles in the small towns, and I figured it was natural selection at work. Any dog that consistently chased after bikes would probably end up being shot or killed, thus eliminating the bike-chasin gene. However on my wrong-way excursion out of Otumba, which was more off the beaten path, I had several dogs chase me. One large white dog was particularly determined, and because there was a vehicle in front of me I couldn't simply accelerate away, so I aimed a well-placed kick at it's head, hitting it square on the chops with my steel-toed boot. That seemed to discourage him, and I was pleased to note that on my return through the town he was content to simply watch me go by. A service performed for all motorcyclists who pass through that town in the future.

The days ride was all on the Mexican high plateau, which was relatively flat land interspersed with large rolling hills. Most of it was cultivated in various crops. It was difficult to keep in mind that I was at an elevation of over 8000 feet. Normally when I think of such large, wide-open spaces, I think of our Great Plains which are at a much lower elevation.

Tlaxcala was a very beautiful city with a huge central town plaza shaded by large, old trees, and the required fountains, benches, and band gazebo. For some reason, even though its population was over ****, it didn't give me the same claustrophobic, cooped-up feeling as the other cities of that sixe that I had been through. On one side of the square, facing it, was an old brick building faced with a covered walkway, supported by brick archways. Several restaurants were located along this walkway, and had cloth-covered tables se up in the walkway. There were a lot of red, white, anng green Mexican flags flying in the plaza and in the streets. Very picturesque.

I asked a gentleman where a bank was and he gave me directions to one on Avenida Juarez about 2 blocks off the plaza. It didn't have the hoped for ATM machine, so I decided to cash some travelers checks instead, only to be informed that currency was only exchanged till 1:30 daily (it was now 2pm) and that I should return manana (tomorrow). Another bank referred me to the 1st bank. While walking back to the plaza I passed a tourist information center so I went in. The young man spoke very good English, and directed me to a bank a couple of blocks away with an ATM machine. It was actually located inside, in a small room accessable both from the inside of the bank, and from the street itself. I couldn't tell if it was accessable 24 hours o not. I think probably not. All three banks, had armed guards with sub-machine guns guarding their entrances. I inserted my ATM card, entered my PIN, and just like that had 1500 pesos (about $200). Very convenient.

It was now about 3pm so I stopped at one of the restaurants along the plaza and had their "Menu del Dia". For 15 pesos (about $2) I started out with a bread basket with a selection of breads, followed by a mixed fruit salad. I know they say don't have fruit or salad, etc. but this appeared to be an upscale place, and other local, well-to-do diners, were partaking, so I also ordered a lemonade, which arrived with ice. Horrors! It was delicious. Then came the chicken-vegatable soup, followed by the main course a chicken dish prepared with a spicey, reddish brown sauce which I can't remember the name. Very good. Finally there was carrot cake or desert. All that for $2US.

I was tempted to stay in Tlaxcala for the night since I had seen some nice hotels with rooms for 40 pesos on the way into town, but decided to go on to La Malinche, about 30 miles NE. Leaving town I had the typical late afternoon 15 minute rain shower.

Both on the way into and on the way out of Tlaxcala there were large billboards, in Spanish obviously, declaring that the minimum sentence for murder in the state was 30 years. Makes one wonder.

The park surrounds a **** ft peak. There was no admission fee and there wer no developed camping facilities per se that I could find; You could camp anywhere along the paved road which climbed up along the lower reaches of th mountain. That was fine by me, although it didn't quite square with the guide book's description of this being one of the more developed Mexican National Parks. Then again, maybe it did. It had a paved road after all.

As luck would have it, the first night I camp south of the border and I get case of mild diarrhea. Of course everyone is going to say it was the fruit or the lemonade. It may have been, but actually it was more like what sometimes happens after eating a really spicy Thai dinner. Nothing like stumbling out of the tent at two in the morning and digging a hole in the dark, buck naked.

Wednesday September 4 (54135 miles)

Today was a mini-decision day, whether to head east oveer to the Gulf Coast and head south along the coast, or to stay on the high plateau and head sout from Tlaxcala.

I had sort of decided that rather than do the loop around the Yucatan Penninsula, La Ruta Maya as it is known, on my return trip north as originally planned, I should either do it now on the way south, or immediately after taking a language course in Guatemala. Now and I might catch the tail-end of the hurricane season which extends into mid-September. Later and it would mean one more set of border crossings to reenter Mexico, although my tourist card and vehicle permits were good for multiple entries over a 6 month period.

I was leaning towards the latter, though would not have to decide for a couple of days yet. As for my immediate decision, I chose to head to the coast and Veracruz, for no real good reason than a change of scenary. There were some of the giant 12 foot stone Olmec heads along the coast in Santiago Tuxtla and around Villahermosa.

Made it about 250 miles to Alvarado on the Gulf of Mexico. Alvarado is abou 36 miles south of Veracruz, and is situated on a large spit of land between the Gulf and Laguna Alvarado. I found a hotel, El Hotel Torres del Babel, for 60 pesos overlooking the mouth of the lagoon. It even has a swimming pool, which felt great. This is definitely the Gulf climate, hot, humid, an muggy. Till I maneuvered the bike into a lower floor storage area, I was literally drenched in sweat. The room has a large ceiling fan which will be appreciated.

When I had asked about the room, I had asked my usual question if it had agu caliente, hot water. Later I realized how absurd this was, as the last thin I wanted was a hot shower in this heat and humidity.

The entire day was overcast with heavy cloudcover. I saw the sun once, for about a minute, at 5pm. But no rain. The drop from the 8000 foot high plateau to sea level was more or less gradual over the 200 miles I travelled to the coast today. Ther was really no area with sharp altitude changes. Just a gradual descent into the heat and humidity.

Passed through an army checkpoint several miles south of Veracruz, staffed b about [just killed a 1" cockroach which tried to sneak in under my door.] 10 young recruits. Again, much interest in the bike, where I was from, and where I was going. One wanted to see my passport, so I got off the bike and took my helmet off and dug it out of the Givi top-case. While he was lookin at it, one of the others dug a photo out of his wallet and handed it to me a he and several others laughed. It was of a reclining naked woman with her legs spread. Being the quick thinking machismo guy that I am, I replied, "Donde es ella, Me gusta." as I handed the photo back. This got a good laug out of the recruits. Then my helmet was passed around so they all could see how light it was. One of them handes me his military helmet. It probably weighed at least twice what my laerger helmet did. Some further talk about where I had been in Mexico, and the size of womens breasts in Mexico (I understood enough to pick up on the general concept) and they waved me through, several saying goodbye in English as I left.

Prime real estate for roadside vendors is at the topes (speedbumps) for whic Mexico is famous, and at railroad crossings. Since both will drop your transmission (well, OK not on a BMW motorcycle) if you take them too fast, the vendors literally stand between lanes with their wares, making sales through the vehicle windows. Everything from fruit, to softdrinks, food, crafts, you name it, you'll eventually have the opportunity to buy it if you drive in Mexico long enough.

Interestingly enough many railroad crossings, even out in the middle of the country, have a flagman, presumably paid by the state, waving traffic across ppresumably they had enough train collisions to warrant it. Ironically, the one crossing I saw today that had warning light, those lights were flashing with no train in sight.

Just before hitting the sack I was out front of the hotel watching the neighborhood kids play 3-on-3 soccer in the street under the single street light. I can't imagine playing iduring the heat of the day.

druth@bayarea.net

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